Walker County Animal Shelter urgently seeking homes before deadline
WALKER COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – Back in December, the Walker County Animal Shelter brought in 51 animals.
Out of the 30 dogs the shelter took in, they’ve been able to place all but a handful, however, the ones left are set to be euthanized at the end of the day, tomorrow, at 6pm.
News 12’s Lillian Yi spoke with the Director about what the community can do to help.
The Walker County Animal Shelter is currently operating at critical capacity as it works to care for an overwhelming number of animals.
Melissa Smith, the director of the Walker County Animal Shelter, says the surge began during the holiday season and continued into the new year.
“We were inundated with animals through the holiday, and at the beginning of the year we exceeded our humane capacity to care for the animals,” Smith said.
On December 23, the shelter took in 51 animals.
That number came in addition to ongoing adoptions, rescue transfers, transports, and foster placements.
Smith says while the community response has been incredible, the sheer volume of support has made it difficult for staff to keep up with daily operations.
“We are super overwhelmed with everyone’s help and are super grateful,” Smith said. “With that being said, we have not been able to man our phones or emails as well as we would want to. We are trying really hard to take care of all the animals in our care.”
Out of the 30 dogs initially placed on the shelter’s euthanasia list, only a handful still need to find permanent homes.
Smith says a deadline was put in place due to limited space and resources.
“So we had to put a deadline of thirty animals on our euthanasia list,” she said. “By Tuesday the thirteenth, we have to have placement for those animals.”
While the shelter remains hopeful that no dogs will be left on the list, Smith says time is critical.
She adds that visiting the shelter in person is the most effective way to help right now.
“Visiting in person is really the best way at this point,” Smith said. “We are here from ten a m to six p m today and tomorrow in an effort to not have to euthanize these animals. We do not have an application online anymore because we really want to encourage people to come, interact with an animal, and once you fall in love, then we can get all of your information.”
The Walker County Animal Shelter will remain open from 10am to 6pm tomorrow.
No application is required before visiting in person to adopt or rescue a pet.
Click here to learn more.
